


All the Money in the World Can't Buy a Goal

by Sleepygoof8784



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, PWP, Porn with Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-06
Updated: 2015-01-06
Packaged: 2018-03-06 10:09:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3130691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sleepygoof8784/pseuds/Sleepygoof8784
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Geno is in a scoring slump and grumpy about it. Sid wants to help him relax and make him feel better, so that he can score.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All the Money in the World Can't Buy a Goal

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a prompt requested on Tumblr where the anon asked for Sid/Geno slump fic and Sid treating Geno to all of his favorite things to cheer him up. Betta'd by my non-hockey best friend, but any remaining errors are mine. Comments/kudos are loved and cherished. Feel free to find me on tumblr (I'm belleofarc) I love new people and feel free to prompt me a fic idea over there too! :)

Sidney cringes as he sees Geno slam the wadded up ball of tape, freshly pulled from his socks, into the trash. With the force of the throw Sid’s a little surprised the trashcan didn’t fall over. Geno’s whole demeanor screams that he wants to be left alone, which is unnecessary because precisely no one is dumb enough to try and talk to an angry Russian bear at the moment.

Geno grabs his towel and stomps his way into the shower. Sid is grateful because he needs to focus on the media that is being shown into the room and is making a beeline straight to his stall. 

The first few questions are standard softballs, about Sid’s goal and his assist on Beau’s goal. All the questions after that seem to be about Geno, and Sid is desperately glad he is still in the shower, hiding from reporters no doubt. Either that or drowning himself slowly.

“What do you make of Geno’s continued slump? This is seven games without a point, which stands in stark contrast to his hot streak start of the season. Anything you think he needs to be doing?”

Sid desperately tries not to roll his eyes, because honestly? What the hell kind of dumb question is that?

What he says in his most neutral voice is a much more appropriate sound bite. “I think he’s playing great. Solid passes, some quality shots on goal -- he had a real good look in the second with that break away, but Tukka is hard to fake on the glove side, and he caught it. I wouldn’t tell G to change a thing. I think he just keeps working like he has been, the streak will break. It happens to all of us.”

The reporters seem satisfied, and Jen ushers them out shortly after. Sid notices that Geno heard his answer, but neither say anything. Sidney can’t help but squeeze Geno’s shoulder on his way past G’s stall to finally take his own shower. But all he gets in response is a grunt of recognition. 

Sid sighs as he turns on the hot water and lets the spray wash over his sweaty hair; he’s got to figure out how to pull Geno out of his funk. Not because he cares about the scoreless streak, but because he can’t stand another night of despondent, sulky, self-castigating Geno. They’ve been together for over a year, living together since Geno came back from Russia this summer, and Sidney feels like he’s a failure of a boyfriend if he can’t do something to pick up Geno’s spirits while he waits out the dry spell. 

Geno’d been so good to him last spring when he’d gone through his score draught in the first few games of the playoffs. Special meals, post-nap massages, early morning blowjobs before practice, all of Sid’s favorite things and the little luxuries he didn’t usually allow himself. It’d taken Sid’s mind off his crappy performance and eased some of the pressure that the media, Dan, and his dad had been putting on him. And even though their early exit from the playoff didn’t really make the whole situation feel any better, Geno’s attempts to help him, to take his mind off it, to remind him that at home he was just boyfriend Sid, not the Captain, not Sid the Kid who carried the team, not anyone with greater responsibilities, had finally allowed Sid to relax enough and change his luck.

Sid smiles to himself and dries off his hair as he steps out of the shower. He knows what he needs to do to make Geno feel better, and it starts with a trip to the Russian grocery in Greenfield. But that will have to wait until tomorrow morning; in the meantime, he’s got a plan.

Geno is dressed and sitting on the bench in front of his stall checking his phone when Sid emerges from the shower, towel slung low over his hips.

He taps Geno’s shoulder as he walks past, and starts pulling on his boxer briefs and suit pants as he speaks. “I was thinking we could get sushi on the way home.”

Geno offers him a brief half-smile, sounding surprised when he says, “Okay.”

And Sid turns into his stall to grab his shirt and hide his own grin. Geno loves sushi; it’s not Sid’s favorite, so he rarely suggests it. Geno really loves the sushi place a few blocks from CONSOL, the one that’s always open late. A spicy tuna roll should help improve Geno’s mood, or at least be a step in the direction Sid is trying for here.

Sid is doing up the last of the buttons on his shirt when Geno says, without looking up from his phone, “Papa said you play well tonight. Good goal in the third.”

“They were awake to watch?”

“Yes. Papa get up early to watch. Mama see end of game but not up early enough for start. He says I need to stay out of box, not take dumb penalties, and score more.” Geno says the last with a little derisive snort and a deep frown.

Sid silently curses Vladimir for his teasing. He knows that Geno’s father is giving him gentle advice in a joking manner; Vladimir and Natalia care about Geno’s performance because Geno cares deeply about it. Both would be fine if Geno never scored again, if it weren’t for the fact that their son would have a nervous breakdown. But at home in Magnitogorsk Vladimir can’t see that Geno is self-destructing from this slump and the way the media are covering it, can’t see that it is not something Geno is ready or able to be ribbed about. 

Sidney pulls on his jacket, and then sits down on the bench, slipping his arm around Geno’s shoulder and using his free hand to take Geno’s phone away. He presses a kiss to Geno’s temple and nuzzles his nose into the hair there.

“Stop focusing on it. Your dad is kidding. Let’s go get sushi, go home and eat, then maybe take a bath.”

“A bath?” Geno scrunches his nose, and then sighs, asking, “You too?”

Sidney smiles and knows that he’s got Geno convinced. Geno love soaking in the huge tub in Sidney’s master bath, especially loves when they both share the tub. Sidney presses another kiss to Geno’s temple, before saying “Of course. Let’s get out of here.”

Geno stands up and lets Sidney lead him out of the locker room and back to Sid’s SUV without comment or complaint.  
\-------------------------------------

It’s late in the evening and Sidney and Geno are in the tub. The lights are dialed low, soft Russian melodies play in the background, and Sidney had added some of the lavender bath salts that Taylor had given him as a joke last Christmas to the water. All in all, Sid thinks it’s pretty relaxing. But he’s not the target audience.

Geno’s leaning against the back of the tub, his warm chest pressed against Sid’s back. He feels relaxed to Sidney, but he’s been quiet, too quiet for Sidney’s liking. A silent Geno means that the other man is focusing on his errors in his head, and Sidney can’t fix the problem if he doesn’t know what the problem is. But Sidney’s boneless and relaxed, and he’s hoping that Geno is at least less tense. It seems like the sushi-and-bath plan has been a tentative success.

They’ve been in the tub for about twenty minutes, and Sidney’s fingers are starting to wrinkle when Geno breaths out a sigh and pokes at Sidney’s leg. Sidney opens his eyes, and tilts his head from its perch on Geno’s shoulder.

“What’s up, babe?”

Geno huff out a little laugh at the endearment, as he usually does. “What I need to do?”

“Um, nothing?” That’s the point of this, that there is nothing either of them have to do, except relax and enjoy the company. Maybe that’s not clear to Geno.

“No. What I need to do? To score. You look at tape, what you see?”

Sidney sighs. And turns in Geno’s arms to that he’s looking at him. It sends the water splashing around them a bit, but Sid could care less. Eye contact is important here.

“Nothing. You are not doing anything wrong. It’s all been uncontrollable stuff, bad bounces or lucky blocks. The more you stress about this, the tenser you are, the worse you are going to play. You have to relax. Just play, it will come.”

Geno huffs out an annoyed breath. “You no help.”

Sid frowns. So much for the relaxing bath idea. “Sorry.”

Geno shakes his head and kisses Sidney’s nose. “Not your fault. I’m cold. Ready to get out?”

Sidney nods, “Yeah.” 

He’s out of the tub with a towel wrapped around himself before he speaks again. “I wish I could fix this for you. Seriously, try not to focus on it.”

Geno nods, and doesn’t reply. But he takes the towel Sidney’s holding out to him with a weak smile and gives Sidney a sweet brief kiss on the lips before heading out of the bathroom in search of pajama pants.

Sidney sighs and lets the water out of the tub, already composing a shopping list in his head. Next step in Operation “Get Geno to Relax”: making Geno’s favorite Russian meal tomorrow.  
\--------------------------------------

Sid wakes up as the sun is starting to peek through the curtains the next morning and smiles to himself. Geno will sleep late, especially since Sid had turned off the alarm clock before going to bed. They have a skate later in the afternoon, so there is plenty of time for Sidney to head to the Russian grocery in Greenfield and get back before Geno has to get up.

Sidney allows himself a few minutes of basking in the warmth and safety of being in Geno's arms. Geno is, unsurprisingly, a cuddler. He likes to sleep as close to Sid as possible, so more often than not, Sid wakes to Geno's arm over his waist and their legs tangled together.

Sid sighs softly and steals himself for climbing out of bed. He gently pushes Geno's arm, and holds his breath for a moment to see if he’ll stay asleep. Geno just huffs a soft sigh and shifts slightly away from Sidney. Sid smiles, places a kiss a Geno's bare shoulder, and slips out of bed. He's dressed and out the door in less than fifteen minutes.

Sidney is home from the store and putting the groceries away as Geno ambles into the kitchen, wearing nothing but his sleep pants, which are slung low on his hips. Geno bypasses him and puts a kettle on. Sid smiles into the refrigerator as he puts the sour cream and fresh dill away.

Geno retrieves a coffee mug from the counter; Sidney hands him a new box of his favorite tea, freshly purchased at the grocery store. Geno takes the tea with a smile.

"Where you go? I wake up, but you not there."

"I ran to the grocery store. I'm going to make pelmeni for dinner tonight. And borscht for lunch tomorrow, we'll freeze the rest."

"Why?"

Sidney looks at him with confusion. "Because it’s your favorite."

Geno offers him a broad smile, "You get up early, go to Greenfield, to make me dinner?" Geno pulls him into a hug, wrapping his arms around Sidney's waist. "You take such good care of me, Sid."

Sidney blushes, "I just want to do something nice for you."

"You so very nice." Geno captures his lips in a deep kiss, letting his tongue sweep into Sid's mouth. 

Their kiss is broken up a few minutes later when one of the cellphones -- both of which are laying on the kitchen counter -- rings. It's Geno's, so Sid gives him a soft kiss and goes to pull the pelmeni recipe card out of the box his mom had made to hold all of his loose recipes. He's focused on pulling out the things needed to make the dough when Geno growls and slams his phone on the counter.

Sidney looks to Geno, questioning.

"I'm not practice today. Maintenance day. Coach wants me to rest, see if help score. Not want to see me at skate." Geno crosses his arms in annoyance. "Stupid."

Sidney hesitates for a minute, trying to figure out what to do. Despite his best efforts at comforting Geno, he does not seem to be having much success. He decides to put his hand on Geno's forearm and gives it a gentle squeeze. "Sorry, G."

"Not your fault."

"Still sucks."

"Yes. I go ride bike for a while."

"All right. I'm going to start the pelmeni dough."

Geno gives him a nod and then walks out of the room, frown firmly on his face.

Sid resists the urge to throw something. No matter how much Geno loves pelmeni and borscht, he will focus on the fact that he was told to stay home. Yet again, his plan to help Geno relax has been thwarted by outside forces. Sidney is quickly running out of ideas to try and turn Geno's mood and scoring luck around.  
\--------------------------------------

Sid knows the pelmeni still taste good. Geno tells him as much as they eat them, along with boiled cabbage, at dinner later in the day. But the fact that Sid had gone to practice this afternoon and Geno has stayed home... well, it takes some of the joy out of dinner. 

Sid even pointedly ignores that Geno breaks his diet plan by adding butter and far too much sour cream to his bowl of pelmeni, because this is about comfort food and for Geno it doesn’t get much more comforting than to add an entire container of sour cream to what he’s eating.

Despite everything Geno is still grumpy and distracted; Sid sighs silently to himself and continues to wrack his brain on what else he can do. He’s thinking about blintzes for breakfast, but that might be too obvious. If Geno starts to figure out that Sid is trying to pamper him he will get angry and petulant. Sid mulls it over as he goes to the refrigerator to get strawberries and whipped cream out for dessert. 

Geno smiles, the first bright and genuine smile that Sid’s seen in days, when he sets them on the table. Geno kisses him on the cheek as he carries their empty dinner plates into the kitchen and then returns with dessert plates.

“You spoil me. All my favorite things for dinner. Sid best.”

Sid blushes as he dips a strawberry into whipped cream and doesn’t respond. He’s not really sure what he should say. He’s dangerously close to being called out.

Geno laughs at him and focuses on his dessert. They eat in companionable silence, until they finish and Geno leans over and kisses Sid’s mouth, then licks at the corner of his lips.

Sid sighs into it, and captures Geno’s lips in a deep kiss, letting his tongue sweep into Geno’s mouth, tasting the lingering sweetness of berries and cream. He pulls back to catch his breath a few minutes later, and Geno gives him a series of quick pecks.

“Take good care of me, lapushka. Thanks.”

“I love you.”

“Love you, too.”

Sid steals another kiss, then sighs softly. “I’ll do the dishes. Want to watch a movie, maybe that one Gonch sent you?”

Geno smirks at him. “I know what you doing. But yes, we watch Russian movie, is best, you see.”

Sidney chuckles. “Go get it ready, get comfortable, I’ll clean the kitchen up.”

“I go, I go.”

Sid nods and carries the dessert plates and their water glasses to the sink. He is pleasantly surprised that Geno is reacting well to his attempts to spoil him. Last time Sid had done this, he’d gotten mad and accused Sid of treating him like a baby. And Geno does seem more relaxed tonight, if not entirely happy. Sid has one last thing planned. He’s pulling out all of the stops, and if this doesn’t pull Geno out of his funk, he doesn’t know what will.

He smiles to himself, his game plan set, and hums a little as he finishes the dishes. Sid always finds it comforting to have a plan.  
\--------------------------------------

Sid walks into the living room forty-five minutes later to find Geno sitting on the couch with his feet up on the coffee table. The TV is showing the DVD top menu, the volume muting the theme music. He's wearing his favorite pajama bottoms, soft worn flannel plaid in black and gold, and a faded grey Team Russia shirt. He's on the phone; the only clues about who he could be talking to are the tone of his voice (fond) and the language he’s speaking (Russian). Sid leaves him to it, and heads towards the bedroom to change into his own pajamas. 

He returns a few minutes later wearing an old Shattuck t-shirt and Pens sweatpants. Geno pats the seat on the couch cushion next to him. Sid sits, letting Geno sling his arm over his shoulders and resting his head on Geno's shoulder. Geno presses a kiss to the crown of his head. When he speaks into the phone again it is to end the conversation, and he wishes whoever is on the other end a good night. Geno hangs the phone up and places it on the side table, before kissing Sid.

"Sorry, Gonch called."

Sid leans up to let Geno settle back into the corner of the couch and then settles into Geno's chest, their legs winding together and Geno's arms holding him warmly. He sighs happily before asking, "Everything ok? Did he say how he is doing in Montreal?"

"He ok, lonely though. Kesenia and the girls not in Montreal yet. Want to wait until end of girls’ school season, before move. He sound tired."

Sid nods and places a consoling kiss on Geno's chin. He sounds so sad that Gonch is lonely. "We should take him to dinner next time we play the Habs. Try not to worry about him too much; he’ll be ok."

"Yes, he has experience with trades. Say team being good to him, he try to make me feel better about no score."

Sid chooses not to comment, instead placing a kiss on Geno's neck, and then his chin.

Geno sighs. "Sorry."

Sid stops kissing along Geno's neck and frowns at him. "For what?"

"For not score."

"I meant what I told the media yesterday. You are doing everything right. The luck is against you. You need to try and relax; it won't come if you are holding too tight."

Geno hums contemplatively and nudges his nose against the shell of Sid's ear. He is quiet for a moment, and Sid waits him out. Finally, after three silent minutes, Geno blows out a huff of warm air, which streams next to Sid's ear and causes him to shudder from the feeling.

"I try to relax. Thanks Sid, you best."

Sidney offers him a smile, tips his head back against Geno's shoulder, and captures Geno's lips in a kiss.

Geno deepens the kiss again, stealing Sid's breath.

When they pull apart Geno has a satisfied grin on his face as he watches Sid's chest heave while he tries to catch his breath.

Geno asks, with a touch of smugness, "We watch movie?"

Sid nods and lets Geno start the DVD. Geno's warm and loose-limbed, an arm thrown around Sid's chest. He is the most relaxed that Sid has seen in days. Finally, Sid feels like he may be accomplishing his goals.  
\--------------------------------------

The movie is about halfway through and the main character is getting hot and heavy with the blonde love interest. She's a typical Russian beauty: blonde hair, large breasts and large doe eyes. Sidney is not a stranger to nudity in a movie, but he's been in the US long enough now that he's used to American standards when it comes to modesty. So seeing the love scene play out in front of him, well, it’s a little steamier than he's expecting.

Sid shifts his hips a bit, trying not to squirm but failing.

In the end though it doesn't matter, because Sid's not the only one being affected by the movie. He feels Geno's growing hardness press against his newly repositioned hip. He smiles slyly to himself and rocks his hip gently back into Geno.

He repeats the rocking motion, once, twice, three times before Geno lets out a small satisfied sigh and lifts his hips to meet Sid’s on his fourth languid slide back. 

Sid turns his head towards Geno and smiles, before shifting down in a slow, purposefully dirty, slide of his hips. "Hi."

Geno chuckles, low and dirty, before placing a kiss to Sid's jaw. "You trying to distract from movie?"

Sid grins inwardly. He's on target for exactly what he wants, and he knows how best to get Geno to go along with his plan. He bites his bottom lip, and widens his eyes a bit in a way he knows is hard to resist. Once he sees the interest in Geno's eyes he places a kiss to Geno's neck and whispers. "Yes."

"You try be seductive? Not have to try so hard."

Sidney doesn't respond, just twists at the waist, his ass grinding into Geno's very interested dick, and mouthing wet and warm at Geno's neck and down towards the neck of his t-shirt and his shoulder. 

Geno moans as Sidney latches on the soft skin at the juncture of his neck and shoulder. Geno brings a hand up to Sid's head, resting against his hair, holding him in place. Sid smiles against Geno's skin, then bites at the tendon, sucking the skin for a few moments, pulling away only after he's created a large bruise.

"No tease."

Sidney ignores him, and kisses Geno, his tongue fucking into Geno's mouth and exploring the soft contours of his cheeks.

He slides his hands down Geno's chest, his hands resting at Geno's waistband. He breaks off the kiss, fixes Geno with a smoldering look, and licks his lips before whispering, "Want to blow you."

Geno moans and nods before saying, "Yes, please."

Sid smiles and resists the urge to fist pump. He loves accomplishing his goals, but a celly would be a bit much at this point.

He grabs the pillow from the end of the couch closest to him, tossing it to the floor before sliding to his knees. He places a kiss to each of Geno's knees before sliding his hands to rub Geno's thighs. 

Geno shift, lifting his hips and pushing at his pajama pants. Sid waits until he's pushed the pants down over his ass, before tugging them down his legs and off, tossing them away. Geno rests his palm against Sid's cheek and smiles at him.

Sid turns his face into Geno's hand and places a wet kiss on the palm, before letting his fingers trail up the inside of Geno’s leg, sliding from his ankle to the edge of his knee, up his broad thighs, and then nudging his thighs wider, slipping between his spread legs.

Geno's cock stands out red and flushed, rock hard and slightly curved to the left. The sight makes Sid's mouth water a little. This is far from the first time he's done this, but he loves it all the same.

Sid lowers his head, and places a teasingly brief kiss to the head of Geno's cock. He mouths at the head, letting the precome linger on his lips, before pulling back and licking the taste from them. 

Geno groans again, deep and pained sounding before lifting his hips in a wordless encouragement. His hands are gripping his thighs in an effort to restrain himself, and Sid will have none of that. This is about Geno, about helping him get out of his head, about helping him relax, Sid wants him to enjoy every minute. To take what he wants. To hold nothing back.

"Don't." Sid says tugging at Geno's hands which are starting to turn white from the intensity of his grip. "Don't hold back, I want to hear you, G. Want to feel you."

"So good to me, Sid. Take such care. I not deserve."

Sid bites his inner thigh gently, but firm enough to sting. "Yes, you do. Now stop thinking."

Sid guides Geno's hands into his hair, gives him a wicked grin, and then licks a teasing stripe from Geno's balls to the tip of his cock.

Geno's fingers tangle in Sid hair, tugging a little, the way he knows Sid appreciates.

Sid repeats the motion, before focusing on the soft smooth head of Geno's cock, mouthing wet and feather light, using his plump lips to tease. Letting the saliva pool in his mouth, seep out over his lips, soaking the head of Geno's cock in a warm wet torment.

Sid laps at the slit, oozing even more precome, making Geno shudder and moan.

Sid focuses his attention at the head, repeating the process, while letting his hands drift to Geno’s balls. Rubbing them together gently, teasingly cupping them in his warm palm.

After a minute or so of this treatment, Geno gasps out, "Please."

Sidney knows what he is asking for and obliges. He lets his hand roll Geno's balls, and in one smooth motion, takes Geno's cock into his mouth. He smooths his tongue against the vein on the underside of Geno's cock as he takes it in, dragging his bottom lip along the same spot at he lets the thick cock slide out of his mouth.

Sid lets his hand slide from Geno's balls to his thighs, widens his mouth more, and on the next downward slide, swallows Geno to the root. Reveling in the way his nose nudges Geno's neatly trimmed pubic hair. He repeats the process, holding Geno deep in his mouth, working his throat muscles, easing as around the head of Geno's cock. He relishes the sounds of Geno's heavy breathing, the way he tightens his grip on Sid's head with every downward slide.

It doesn't take long before Geno is rocking his hips up to meet Sid's downward thrusts, and Sid knows he's getting close. Sid widens his mouth, and then squeezes Geno’s thigh in wordless encouragement.

Geno takes it, tightens his grip in Sid's hair and angles his head just the way he wants it before experimentally rocking his hips up and thrusting his cock into Sid's waiting mouth.

Sid moans this time, because he loves this. It always gets Geno off, and Sid loves letting go, letting Geno take what he needs, being used and cared for at the same time.

Sid slides his free hand down to the waist of his pajama pants, shoves his hand past the elastic and gripping his own hard cock firmly. He pumps his fist, firm and warm and just right, in rhythm with Geno's controlled but dominating thrusts.

Geno is gasping, and letting loose a torrent of Russian praise and filthy requests. Sid can't stop moaning, and they are both so, so close. Sid's hand speeds up, breaking sync with Geno's thrusts, which are growing more erratic.

Geno grasps Sid's head painfully tight, pulling too hard on his hair, making Sid's eyes water just a bit, before gasping out a choked, "Sidneyushka." He thrusts once, twice, then holds Sid's head down as he gasps out, "Love you," and spills into Sid's mouth, warm, salty, and oh so satisfying.

Sid can't stop himself after that. With a final pump on his own cock he grunts out a muffled moan and comes.

The living room is still for long moments after, nothing but the sounds of their combined erratic breathing and the movie playing on in low dulcet Russian in the background. After a minute or two, when Sid's limbs no longer feel like jelly, he struggles to his feet, looking a bit like a newborn colt finding its legs. He pushes his pajama pants off, wiping at the remaining mess clinging to his skin with the outside of the pajamas, and then tosses them on the floor with Geno's.

Geno wraps one large hand around Sid's wrist and gently tugs until he has Sid arranged on the couch the way he wants him. Sid is snuggled up into Geno's chest, their legs both stretched out on the couch. Geno tilts his head up and capture his lips in a sweet lingering kiss. 

"Thank you Sid. You best."

Sid blushes, suddenly shy, and places his head on Geno’s chest. "Was nothing."

"Not nothing. Take such good care of me. Make me feel better, relaxed. So relaxed I'm gonna score for you tomorrow. Promise."

Sid smiles, and then shudders a bit from a cold chill, before saying "Good. I love you, G."

Geno shifts, pulls the throw off the back of the couch and covers them both with it. "Yes, I'm love you too." He drops another kiss to the top of Sid's head. "You nap, did lots of hard work" Geno fixes him with a filthy grin at that, before continuing, "I finish movie, then we go to sleep. Big day tomorrow, I'm score lot."

Sid huffs out a sleepy laugh; he is really tired all of a sudden. He places a light kiss to Geno's chest before settling in, warm and cozy in Geno's arms and under the blanket. He is asleep within second of closing his eyes, smiling as Geno chuckles at the movie, feeling content at having finally accomplished his goal.  
\--------------------------------------

Sid sees the shooting lane moments before Geno does. Sunshine sets Geno up with a beauty of a pass, Geno is in just the right place and catches the puck right on the tape. It's a clear shooting lane, and Geno lets a smooth wrister go, burying it into the back of the net.

The bench erupts. It's the go ahead goal, with two minutes left in the third. Sid goes wild, along with the rest of their team. He's so damn happy for Geno, and relieved that Geno was able to relax and finally score.

But more than that, the moment when Geno points to Sid, after his celly, before heading to the bench for fist bumps, well… it makes Sid blush and feel elated. Like maybe all of his efforts actually paid off. And that makes all of it worth it. Because Geno and good hockey are all that Sid really needs.


End file.
